Walnut Creek Coronavirus Cases Top 200 | CoCo Reports New Deaths

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Walnut Creek has crossed the milestone of 200 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 214 now reported in city residents.

Meanwhile, Contra Costa County has recorded two new deaths blamed on complications from the virus. Neither lived in a long-term care facility.

The county health department has just started reporting the deaths separately. To give some perspective, the county has reported 15 deaths this month. Of those, 11 people lived in long-term care facilities. The total death toll in the county since the start of the pandemic is now 92.

Meanwhile, Walnut Creek School District Superintendent Marie Morgan sent a message to the community on Tuesday saying, " To reduce your worry, I want to share that I will be recommending that we begin our school year in the remote learning phase of our hybrid model. This will allow students to learn from home and will also allow us to reopen our schools when the data indicates it is safe to do so. I know you have many questions. Please know we are working through many details and will continue to send ongoing communication with updates."

When Gov. Gavin Newsom announced strict new health orders on Monday, he cited several reasons including rising cases that can't be attributed to more testing, an increase in hospitalizations, and intensive care admissions. Here in Contra Costa County, there are now 79 people hospitalized for complications from coronavirus, and a seven-day average of 71 patients. The average increased by 19 over the past week.

Roughly 60 percent of the state's hospital beds are currently full, and state officials are concerned by rising ICU admissions.

"And as a consequence, we wanted to be prepared for those conditions — based on the trend lines, based on the data, based on the science — to modify our stay-home order," Newsom said.

In addition to restaurants, theaters, wineries, zoos and museums being ordered to close indoor operations in all counties, effective immediately, Contra Costa is on the "Watch List" because of surging statistics, so even more restrictions were ordered here including closing hair salons and barbershops, gyms and fitness centers, indoor protests, worship services, nonessential offices and shopping malls.

Another development, county supervisors on Tuesday extended a temporary prohibition on rental tenant evictions, and a residential rent increase moratorium.

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

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